Painting Services in San Francisco

Painting a San Francisco house: what the job really involves

Asking costs nothing. Describe the job and it goes to local independent pros who paint houses in your area - up to three of them - and they contact you to look at it and quote. The Handyman SF does not do the work and never charges you for the introduction.

A request that arrives during the day goes out to pros the same day; one that comes in overnight goes out the next morning. There is no 24-hour crew on standby, and any painter who promises one should be asked how.

What a painting job here usually covers - and what it does not

Before 1978, the paint itself is regulated

The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule is plain about who it covers: "anyone who is paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified". Much of San Francisco's housing was built long before that date, so this is the ordinary case here, not the exception.

It certifies the firm, not only the person holding the sander, and scraping counts as much as a full repaint. Ask for the certification before preparation starts, not after.

Fog on one side of the hills, sun on the other

San Francisco is not one climate. The neighbourhoods facing the Pacific take the marine layer head-on, while the hills keep much of it off the eastern side of the city, which runs warmer and brighter on the same afternoon. An exterior on the west side spends far more of its life damp, and that is a coating decision rather than a colour one.

Wood takes moisture from the air and gives it back - the US Forest Service's work on equilibrium moisture content is why a door binds in one season and swings free in the next. Paint slows that exchange; it never stops it.

Questions people actually ask first

What does it cost to ask?

Nothing. You are never charged for describing the job or for being put in touch. The pro who comes out gives you the price, and you deal with them directly from there.

How quickly will someone get back to me?

A request that arrives during the day goes out to local pros the same day, and one that arrives overnight goes out the next morning. How fast a particular painter calls is up to them - which is why the job goes to more than one.

My house is from the 1920s. Does the paint have to be tested?

Any paid work that disturbs paint in a home built before 1978 falls under the EPA's lead rule, and the firm doing it has to be certified for that. Ask to see the certification; it is the single most useful question on this page.

Can I paint the brick front of my building?

San Francisco Planning says it directly: "The Planning Department does not regulate paint color; however, unpainted masonry buildings in Article 10 Historic Districts may need a permit in order to be painted or applied with stucco." The colour is yours; painting bare masonry in a historic district is a permit question first.

The paint on my west-facing wall fails every few years. Why?

That side of the city sits in the marine layer far more of the year, so the wall is damp for longer and dries more slowly. It is usually a preparation and product question rather than a brand question, and it is worth raising with whoever quotes.

What to ask before anyone starts

• If the house predates 1978: what is the firm's EPA lead-safe certification, and may I see it?
• What is the CSLB licence number and class, and does this job need a permit? Any number can be checked at cslb.ca.gov.
• Is the building in an Article 10 historic district, and does any unpainted masonry get painted?
• Which coating line is being specified? California limits VOCs statewide and the Bay Area air district keeps its own architectural-coatings rule on top of that.
• Have you prepared stucco over wood lath and redwood siding before, and how do you treat each?

Where these facts come from: EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting, SF Planning historic preservation FAQ, CSLB C-33 classification, BAAQMD Regulation 8, Rule 3, US Forest Service, wood moisture.